How to apply for permission to prune trees in a Ramsgate conservation area: the 6-week notice by the numbers
Four numbers decide almost every tree job in a Ramsgate conservation area: 6 weeks of notice, a trunk over 75mm across at 1.5m, £0 to apply, and 2 years to do the work once the wait is over. People call it a conservation area permit. The paperwork is a section 211 notice to Thanet District Council: you tell the council what you plan, it has six weeks to answer, and it can respond with a Tree Preservation Order (TPO) if it wants the tree kept. Here is the whole process, step by step, with the local links.
Skip the notice and it is a criminal offence
Thanet quotes fines of up to £20,000 in the magistrates' court, and the Crown Court has no upper limit. The owner must also plant a replacement tree. Separately, the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (section 1) makes it an offence to intentionally or recklessly damage or destroy an active nest, and my caution window is 1 March to 31 August.
The process in eight steps
Step 1: Is your address in a conservation area? (5 minutes)
Search the address on Thanet's conservation area location map. The council's conservation areas page lists 27 designations across the district. Those on the Ramsgate side are Ramsgate (council map), Ramsgate, Royal Esplanade (council map), Ramsgate Montefiore (council map) and Pegwell (council map). The council warns its mapping is a guide only. If your plot sits on a boundary line, email planning.services@thanet.gov.uk or ring 01843 577150 for a definite answer.
Step 2: Is it a tree, and does it have a TPO? (10 minutes)
Measure the trunk (the section below shows how) and look up the address on the council's TPO map. Under 75mm across and no TPO, you can stop: no notice is needed. A TPO changes the route: it needs a consent application, decided in 8 weeks, instead of a notice.
Step 3: Decide the work and take photos (30 minutes)
Write the work as a measurement, not a wish: "reduce height by 2m, reduce road-side spread by 1m". Photograph the whole tree from two angles, plus the tape at 1.5m.
Step 4: Assemble the details (20 minutes)
The council needs to identify the tree and understand the work. The Planning Portal also asks for a sketch map (not to scale, showing the tree against boundaries, buildings and road), the tree type and condition, and your interest in the tree. Gather: owner name and address, house number and conservation area, species or a plain description, the specific work and the reason, sketch and photos. If the tree belongs to a neighbour, it is their notice to give.
Step 5: Submit (15 minutes)
Thanet's route is the national Planning Portal, application type "Notification of Proposed Works to Trees in Conservation Areas". A paper route exists too: the council links to the Works to Trees application form and its guidance notes. The council's own page is Works to protected trees. Record the submission date: the notice must carry it and the six weeks are counted from it.
Step 6: Wait for the six weeks to run
The council has three options: make a TPO, tell you the work can go ahead, or let the six weeks lapse. A notice is not an application, so it cannot be refused or approved with conditions. Only if the council consents in writing can work start before the six weeks end.
Step 7: Do the work within 2 years, and keep the paper
If no TPO arrives, the work in the notice can be done within two years of the notice date, and only the work the notice described. Use a competent, insured tree worker. Keep the notice, acknowledgement and photos with the property papers. If a tree is removed, the owner must plant a replacement of suitable size and species.
| Example date | Event |
|---|---|
| 12 October 2026 | Notice submitted |
| 23 November 2026 | Six weeks end: if no TPO, work may proceed |
| 12 October 2028 | Last day of the two-year window |
Step 8: Dead or dangerous trees
A dead tree needs at least 5 working days' written notice. A tree that is an immediate risk of serious harm can be dealt with at once, but only as far as needed to remove the risk, with written notice as soon as practicable. Thanet takes both through its 5-day dead or dangerous tree notice form, not email, and wants a competent person's statement, clear photos, a location plan and a description of the works.
Which trees need notice?
The test is a number, not a species.
| Test | Threshold or rule |
|---|---|
| Trunk diameter, over the bark, 1.5m above natural ground | Over 75mm: notice. 75mm or less: none. |
| Cutting down or uprooting only to help other trees grow (thinning) | Over 100mm: notice. |
| Species | Any: native or non-native, evergreen or deciduous. Leylandii, thuja, cherry laurel, Portuguese laurel, holly, yew, hornbeam, beech, field maple, ash, sea buckthorn and tamarisk all count once thick enough. |
| More than one stem at 1.5m | If any single stem exceeds the limit, the small-tree exemption is lost. Measure each stem. |
| Shrub or hedge plant | Not normally a tree. The council decides on the facts; ask if a plant has thick woody trunks. |
| Routine trimming of a hedge | Clipping hedge growth is not work to a tree. Cutting into thick old stems is. |
| Dead tree | 5 working days' written notice. Dead branches on a living tree are normally exempt. |
| Dangerous tree | Only what removes an immediate risk, written notice as soon as practicable. |
| Cultivated fruit trees | Pruning in line with good horticultural practice is exempt. |
| Tree with a TPO | Consent application, 8 weeks, no fee. Not a notice. |
How to measure: tape round the bark at 1.5m, divide by 3.14. A 75mm trunk reads about 236mm on the tape, and a 100mm trunk about 314mm. Worked example: a 5m Leylandii hedge on a West Cliff plot has main stems that tape at 340mm, which is 108mm across: over the limit, so each of those stems is a tree and cutting into it needs notice. The Griselinia hedge next door tapes at 190mm, which is 60mm across: under the limit, no notice. Clipping the green outer growth of either hedge is ordinary hedge trimming.
Actions that count: cutting down, topping, lopping, uprooting, and wilful damage or destruction. The government view is that cutting roots is included for protected trees, so ask before trenching beside a stem. The Hedgerow Regulations 1997, which cover removal of countryside hedges, are a separate regime.
What to write: a Ramsgate example
Section 211 notice of intended works to a tree in a conservation area. Date: 12 October 2026.
Applicant: A. Sample, 00 Example Road, Ramsgate CT11 (Ramsgate conservation area).
Trees: four Leylandii in the rear boundary hedge, each 340mm round at 1.5m, about 5m tall. Sketch and photos attached.
Work: reduce height to 3.5m and side growth by 0.5m on the neighbour side, keeping green growth below the cut. No felling. To be done by a competent contractor after the notice period.
Example only: names, address and dates are invented to show the layout.
When to call me
Send photos and your postcode and I will tell you which stems in your hedge would need a notice, which would not, and whether the street is inside a conservation area. I can help write the notice. I do the pruning and reduction once the six weeks are up. I do not do removals or stump grinding. For more, see the section 211 explainer, the Ramsgate conservation area rules and the TPO guide.
Want this looked at?
Send a couple of photos and your postcode to hello@ramsgatehedges.co.uk or call or WhatsApp 07763 100 477. Ramsgate, the East and West Cliff, Pegwell and the villages of Thanet.
Sources: GOV.UK, Tree Preservation Orders and trees in conservation areas; Planning Portal, Works to trees; Thanet District Council, Works to protected trees, Conservation areas, Conservation area location and Check tree preservation order online; Town and Country Planning Act 1990, sections 210 and 211; Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, section 1. Guidance only, not legal advice.